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2021 11 01.

xFOREST Therapeutics, Axcelead DDP and Kyowa Kirin Initiated an Collaboration in RNA Structures Targeted Drug Discovering

Tokyo, Japan, November 1, 2021 --- xFOREST Therapeutics Co., Ltd. (Headquarter: Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan, President and CEO: Shunichi Kashida, “xFOREST”), Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners Inc. (Headquarter: Fujisawa, Kanagawa, President: Yoshinori Ikeura, “Axcelead DDP”), and Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (Headquarter: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, TSE:4151, President and CEO: Masashi Miyamoto, “Kyowa Kirin”) announce that the three companies have entered into a joint research agreement to discover multiple drugs that target RNA structures.

Axcelead DDP and Kyowa Kirin originally started collaboration on the development of innovative small-molecule drugs based on a novel drug discovery technology platform in October 2020. Under the terms of the agreement among three companies announced here, xFOREST participates in the research being conducted by Axcelead DDP and Kyowa Kirin on the drug discovery targeting RNA structures. xFOREST will provide its proprietary FOREST technologies, a suite of large-scale parallel analysis platforms, to promote systematic small-molecule drug discovery research targeting RNA structures.

xFOREST obtains rights to receive milestone payments and royalties on sales from Kyowa Kirin according to the progress and success of its R&D. Kyowa Kirin has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize RNA-targeted small-molecules discovered from the collaboration.

Shunichi Kashida, Ph.D., President and CEO of xFOREST commented, "xFOREST Therapeutics has been promoting the development of its proprietary FOREST technologies, aiming to realize highly effective systematic RNA-targeted drug discovery. We appreciate that we will initiate the brand-new challenge to research for discovering the RNA-targeted drug with Kyowa Kirin and Axcelead DDP and we will push forward this research collaboration to deliver new drugs to patients as soon as possible.”

Yoshinori Ikeura, Ph.D., President of Axcelead DDP commented, “Since Axcelead DDP and Kyowa Kirin started collaboration in 2020, we have been striving to develop fundamental technologies that will open up a new era of small-molecule drugs together. We feel the excitement at xFOREST’s participation in our collaboration, which is sure to help us construct a novel unparalleled platform for RNA-targeted small-molecule drug discovery. We are delighted that we utilize our expertise and technologies accumulated in the pharmaceutical industry for the development of novel technology.”

Yoshifumi Torii, Ph.D., Executive Officer, Vice President, Head of R&D Division of Kyowa Kirin commented, "We are very delighted to initiate a collaboration with xFOREST and Axcelead DDP. We highly expect that xFOREST’s unique platform could further accelerate our efforts by integrating it with the Axcelead DDP’s extensive technology and experience of small-molecule drug discovery and our innovative drug discovery technology. We will work closely with both companies to research and develop novel drugs to answer unmet medical needs.”